Fear of backlash grips Central Kenya MPs over CS Anne Waiguru ouster motion

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru

NYERI: Members of Parliament from Central Kenya are in a dilemma on whether to support calls for resignation of the embattled Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru.

The MPs are also agonising on whether to back the impeachment motion filed by Nandi Hills MP Afred Keter as they had vowed to and risk being seen as undermining President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.

Waiguru is facing a backlash from the region’s leaders after 17 MPs from the area disowned her, following revelations of wastage of public funds in her docket. However, the backlash seems to have dissipated after Planning PS Peter Mangiti and several top ministry officials disowned documents they had tabled before a parliamentary committee last week.

Waiguru’s erstwhile supporters such as Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria have since launched a social media campaign to reclaim the embattled CS’s image following redaction of the document by Mr Mangiti.

Kuria posted on his Facebook page about the impending press conference by Mangiti a day before it was held, prompting comments that this was an orchestrated political gimmick.

Yesterday, Kuria said the MPs critical of the government had seen “that the anti-Waiguru motion is a ploy by the Opposition to create a lunatic express for 2017.”

The MP then threatened to campaign against MPs supporting her impeachment, warning that “our voters will be very harsh on leaders who do not toe the Jubilee line.”

James Mithika, the URP chairman in Meru County, said any vote supporting the impeachment by an MP will be a sign of betrayal of the President.

“A successful impeachment against Waiguru can only be disastrous to Jubilee,” said Mithika. “The Opposition is using the vote to gauge the unity of the coalition and if they draw blood, they will never rest. They would have confidence to lurch against our principals.”

‘Discriminatory justice’

The statement issued last Tuesday by 17 Jubilee MPs — 15 from the Mt Kenya region — had asked the President to sack Ms Waiguru in 48 hours if she failed to resign on her own volition.

But Nyeri Town MP Esther Murugi, one of those who signed the statement disowning Waiguru, said yesterday that if the impeachment motion lands on the floor of Parliament, it would not be about Jubilee but the theft of public resources.

Ms Murugi said she was waiting for Keter to table the impeachment motion so that she could scrunitise the accusations more closely. “Somebody goes to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and admits that 23 of her juniors are implicated in theft of resources. What was she doing herself when she was supposed to be the head of the ministry?” asked Murugi.

She also said most Central Parliamentary Group members were unhappy that the government is protecting Waiguru. “If you have to dispense justice, do it equitably. You should never be discriminatory,” she said.

The statement by the 17 Central Kenya MPs calling for the sacking of the CS read in part: “We are conscious of the constitutional demands that state officers must demonstrate respect for the people they serve, bring honour to the nation, bring dignity to the office they hold, promote public confidence in the integrity of office, and vest responsibility to serve and not rule over people.”

But the statement seems to have quickly been set aside when ministry officials, including the PS, disowned the document they had tabled before a parliamentary committee showing that her office had procured irrelevant equipment at inflated costs, provoking a national outcry.

Opposition schemes

Some MPs said to have signed the statement later disowned it, claiming they had only expressed displeasure about the levels of corruption in the Devolution ministry.

Many other leaders have since rushed to the defence of the embattled CS, telling off those calling for her ouster as playing into the schemes of the Opposition.

Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru, who chairs the Central and Nairobi Parliamentary caucus, called for sobriety, saying the fight against corruption should not be turned into a mob lynching.

“We should let institutions mandated to investigate and prosecute corrupt officers do their work. Let us not turn against each other over matters that are still being investigated, more so because we are from the same Jubilee coalition,” he said.

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua has condemned Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando, Kieni’s Kanini Kega and Murugi, who hail from the county, for not defending the Jubilee Government against graft allegations.

Mr Gachagua said the three MPs were giving the Opposition grounds to ridicule Jubilee over their stand on the Waiguru saga. “It is unfortunate that when these three Jubilee MPs speak, they are in support of the Opposition and siding with CORD leaders,” the governor said in a public event where he was accompanied by former Nairobi mayor Dick Wathika – a Kabando rival.

But Kega maintained that the embattled CS should step aside to pave way for investigations over alleged corruption in her ministry. Murugi said condemnation would not stop them from exercising their independence of thought.

The palpable anger by the MPs from the region against Waiguru is believed to be borne out of the manner in which some Cabinet Secretaries were forced to step aside after allegations of graft were levelled against them.

One of those suspended was Transport CS Michael Kamau, who hails from Nyeri County. Others from the region were Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia and Internal Security PS Mutea Iringo.

South Imenti’s Kathuri Murungi, who also signed the statement, said the precedence set by the suspension of other CSs should be applied on other top state officials, including Waiguru. Kathuri said Central Kenya MPs are very concerned about corruption in government but find themselves unable to speak for fear of being seen as supporting CORD’s schemes against Jubilee.

“The legislators (who issued the statement) love the President so much and that is why they want each and every state officer to carry their own cross,” he said.

Waiguru still enjoys the backing of several leaders from Central Kenya. Gichugu MP Njogu Barua also supported the embattled CS, saying she was being unfairly targeted. Waiguru hails from Gichugu constituency in Kirinyaga County.

Kigumo’s Jamleck Kamau has also weighed in on the matter, saying Central Kenya MPs have an obligation to support President Kenyatta and his government against schemes by the Opposition.